


Suddenly Dawning

by SaraJaye



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Awkward Boners, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, M/M, Morgan sees it and ships it, Mutual Pining, Sexuality Crisis, Sharing a Bed, Vacation, mentions of The Future Past, mentions of the Bad Future, stupid sexy Owain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-11-21 18:56:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11363550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: Inigo was sure of two things: He trusted Owain more than anyone, and he liked girls. Except he's not so sure about the second thing anymore, and it's because of the first thing.





	Suddenly Dawning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [malachibi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/malachibi/gifts).



Deep down, Inigo wondered if it was jealousy.

He'd met Owain, loud and crazy, when they were just kids. Inigo had been the shy little boy whimpering and hiding behind his mother while Owain dashed around a room, shouting silly phrases and waving around a stick pretending it was a sword. Inigo couldn't even say hello to anyone without getting scared.

Years later, Owain still ran around shouting catchphrases and naming his attacks, playing pretend, behaving like some overgrown kid or a wannabe actor while Inigo hid his awkwardness under chasing every girl who crossed his path. Owain, the ridiculous childish one, was admired. Inigo, who tried to be a smooth ladies' man, was scoffed at.

So he teased, and he taunted, and got teased and taunted in return. He called Owain a loser playing pretend, Owain called him a dateless wonder. And at the end of the day, somehow, they remained friends.

Maybe it was a combination of jealousy and admiration.

 

Back in their time, it wasn't a big deal. When Chrom died and Owain's father disappeared, things went sour and the rest of their parents started dropping like flies. Inigo remembered Owain sitting by him and patting his back when Father died, and putting flowers on Mother's grave a year later. Staying up all night with Owain remembering the old days when Morgan disappeared at a point he couldn't remember clearly.

With everyone's parents dropping like flies they didn't have time to pick and prod at each other, only to survive and avenge their parents.

Coming back to the past seemed like such a blessing at first. Their parents, alive and well even though they looked younger. A world not fully at peace but still standing, flowers and animals and clear skies throughout. But too much free time gave way to Inigo noticing little things he hadn't had a chance to before.

Like the way the sun glinted off Owain's hair while he practiced his sword strokes every morning. The way the fabric of his shirt hugged his biceps with every pose. His smile. For years, Inigo had made it a point to be The One Who Smiled, but Owain's was more radiant than he could ever hope to be. And his eyes, always bright with hope and determination even during the bad times.

_I could watch you for hours,_ he thought one morning, and the realization scared the hell out of him.

 

Inigo liked girls. Even before Mother's advice and learning about Father's flirtatious past, he just liked them. Cool and brave, full of energy, sharp and sassy, strong as iron, pretty and delicate. He wanted to make them happy, just like Father made Mother happy.

But without Father's natural confidence, his attempts fell flat. No matter how much he wanted to win a girl's heart, he was still the same social disaster he'd always been and he was sure they could see it through the pretty words.

But he liked girls, and only girls. He was sure of it. There was no reason for him to suddenly turn red and look away at the sight of Owain's naked body as they changed clothes, and he was only glad to share a sleeping pallet with him because he didn't sleep well on his own. Any warm body beside his would have been welcome. And he only watched Owain train constantly to gague his skill level, to make sure they could stay on par with each other.

Right?

 

Looking back, it almost made sense that Owain was always by his side. Their fathers had been fairly close friends, and Mother was friends with Lissa through Brady's mother. Not the tightest connection, but enough for them to end up friends.

And they were. Even with all the arguing they did in this time, their jabs at each other, he trusted Owain more than anyone else in their ragtag group. It was Owain who fought at his side against endless Risen in their time, Owain he sparred with most often, Owain he'd been the most relieved to see when they all started finding each other and their parents again. Owain he barely understood when it came to everyday life, but who understood him the most when it came to the big questions.

That harvest festival in the Outrealms, they'd spent half the time fighting those monsters and the rest questioning their morality, their hearts after realizing that in this time, it was necessary to take human lives to survive.

He'd felt so alone in his doubts. The day he'd taken his first life, it shook him to the core, and even now he had trouble going through with their battles even knowing they had no choice. To know Owain felt the same doubts was like a weight lifted from his chest.

_Sorry for the strange questions and all the self-doubt today. If you ever need a shoulder to lean on, I'll always be willing to listen._ Loyal, honest, the best friend a person could ask for. Inigo knew every day just how lucky he was to have Owain in his life.

 

Back in their time, Owain tried to sacrifice himself so Yarne and Brady could deliver the missing Gemstones to Lucina. Inigo pretended to play along, but in truth, he'd planned to cut down the bridge and stay behind the moment Owain offered his own life.

In this time, he refused to leave Owain's side during battles. _To make sure he keeps himself safe and doesn't do anything stupid,_ Inigo would tell himself. But over time, he realized sticking by Owain's side made _him_ feel safe. _Just like when he sleeps near me at night, or trains with me, or talks to me._

One night, he realized this feeling had overridden any jealousy he'd felt towards Owain in the past.

 

Inigo liked girls. The girls in their group, village maidens, tavern girls, deceptively cute thieves. He was a sucker for a pretty face, and this had gotten him in trouble more than once. Morgan loved to tease him about it, and Owain used to join in.

One day, though, Owain stopped. The next day, for some strange reason, Morgan apologized.

"You didn't have to make her do that, you know," Inigo said. "Morgan's just being Morgan. She's the only one of us who hasn't been through hell...or at least the only one who doesn't _remember_ it if she did." She was the anomaly in their group, cheerful and irreverent other than the loss of her memory, but even that didn't seem to get her down for too long. "It's okay, really."

"Not to me," Owain said. "And I didn't make her apologize, by the way. She just saw me cutting you some slack and decided to do it on her own."

"Thanks, by the way. I don't know what made you realize how rude you were being, but thanks just the same." Owain rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes darting to the side for a moment.

"Yeah, well...it was becoming sad, rather than funny, watching you fail all the time. I felt sorry for you is all!"

"Oh. Well..." Inigo shrugged. "The important thing is you stopped."

That night at dinner, Morgan had lain across two seats in the mess hall, only getting up when Owain and Inigo walked over. Inigo could have sworn he saw her wink at them as she went to sit down with Lucina and Kjelle.

"What's with her?" Owain seemed to turn red for a moment, then shrugged.

"Like you said earlier, Morgan's just being Morgan."

 

Morgan had been another fixture in his life since the early days. He didn't remember too clearly when Owain became a big brother, just seeing the baby and Owain grinning as proudly as a three-year-old could. Once she was big enough to walk and talk she would follow them everywhere, and as she got older she took the role of planner in their games and adventures. Even something as simple as getting extra cookies from the kitchen had at least four steps and a backup.

When she was ten and he and Owain were thirteen, Morgan decided Inigo was her future husband. Inigo had of course been shocked, and Owain had played along, teasing them for days before Morgan's sights turned to Gerome.

Not that Morgan herself remembered any of that. Oh, she still teased him and pretended to want dates so he would buy her meals, and he indulged her because she was Owain's little sister.

"My dear friend, should you continue to spoil her, she might just remember wanting to marry you and make good on that," Owain teased one evening. Inigo blushed, dug his hand into his empty pocket, and glanced towards Morgan.

"I don't think you have to worry about that." Morgan nodded firmly.

"He is _not_ my type." She grinned. "So, no need to worry! Well, I've gotta go find Cynthia, she was gonna help me with my lance moves."

She rushed off towards the pegasus she'd just recently befriended and learned to ride, and flew off into the evening before Owain or Inigo had time to reply. Owain sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"As much as I loathe to admit this, I'm afraid I was beginning to feel a bit of the dreaded jealousy," he said. "I'm relieved to know you and my sister will remain friends, and only friends." Inigo blinked.

"Relieved?"

"Not to lose my best friend, of course," Owain said, almost too quickly before he dashed off towards the mess hall.

He spent half the night listening to Owain's breathing as he slept, Owain's words repeating over and over again. _I wonder, could be possibly..._

No. Absolutely not, Owain would never be thinking _that._ Besides, Inigo liked girls.

Right?

 

In their time, there were no more beaches or hot springs, so the trips to the Outrealm baths were twice the special treat. There was even some kind of contest at the baths that he, Lucina, Severa, and Owain won.

"I still don't get it, but hey, I'm not one to turn down a new outfit," Severa said cheerfully. " _Or_ a hot spring bath!"

"It almost feels wrong," Lucina said. "Taking a vacation while the mission should be the most important thing. But then I think of how I never got to do this with Mother, Father, and Kjelle back home..."

"Exactly!" Owain smiled. "We were deprived of so many things in our tortured childhoods of loss and death, I'd say we've earned this!"

"Indeed. Plus," Inigo added, "it's a chance to scope out more-"

"Oh, knock it off!" Severa scoffed. "You haven't chased a single girl in a week, I think even _you've_ realized it's a hopeless case." Inigo flinched, but not the reason he thought he would.

"Well, yes, but-"

"We've hardly had the time to enjoy our normal hobbies as of late," Lucina cut in. "It's not just Inigo. When was the last time we heard a violin solo from Brady, for example? Or the last time you got to take Noire shopping, Severa?" Severa blushed tomato-red, and Lucina patted her shoulder. "It's okay. I don't get as much time alone with Laurent off the battlefield."

"But Noire and I aren't-" Severa sighed. "Oh, never mind. I'm going shopping, you're welcome to come with me. In fact, I insist on it." She smirked. "You could use a new outfit, I think." Lucina smiled sheepishly.

"If you think so, Severa." She smiled at Inigo and Owain. "You two enjoy yourselves." Inigo nodded, watching Severa drag Lucina off to the nearest clothing stand.

"So," Owain ventured, "guess after we claim our prizes, you'll be off to find a date, huh?" Inigo's first instinct was to say yes, but even if Severa hadn't called attention to it, the fact was he just hadn't had the _energy_ to flirt lately. Maybe he was just tired of rejection, or afraid of worse.

"Actually...if you didn't have your own plans, why don't we spend the day together?" Owain raised an eyebrow.

"Really? You sure you're not just looking for another wingman?"

"Hey!"

"I jest, I jest!" Owain chuckled. "It would be my pleasure to spend today with you, my best friend!" He wrapped an arm around Inigo's shoulders, Inigo willed his face not to burn. "Shall we collect our prizes, then?"

"We shall!"

Of course, at that moment, a batch of enemies had to show up and attack. But at this point, Inigo was more than used to fighting and killing to stay alive. Why should he do any less to protect his vacation and his alone time with Owain?

Besides, it was worth the bloodshed when they reached the winner's circle. The sight of Owain in his yukata, smirking over his shoulder, was worth everything they'd had to go through so far. Even the strange blue tint in his hair suited him, made him look every inch the royal descendant he was.

_When did he get so good-looking?_

 

The sight was only topped a few days later, when they went to the beach. Everyone who wasn't a contest winner had to buy their own swimsuits, but Owain ponied up the gold without complaint or question.

"Aren't you going to buy one, Inigo?" Morgan asked. "Owain will be lonely if you don't come swimming with him!" Inigo felt his cheeks burn as he tried not to look in the direction Owain had gone to change.

"I-I thought this time he'd rather go with Cynthia! I mean, she _is_ part of the Justice Cabal, and-"

"Oh, just come with us!" Cynthia giggled, arriving on the scene with a blushing Yarne and an unusually cheerful-looking Nah. "If there's more of us, Yarne will feel safe!"

"Well..."

Just then, Owain returned in a royal blue garment that looked like it was painted onto him. His muscular form on full display, sunlight glinting off his skin and hair, and Inigo felt a part of him react so quickly he barely had time to turn away.

"I-I'm actually hungry, and you're not supposed to go swimming after you eat!" he called, rushing off towards the nearest snack stand. "Maybe later!" He didn't buy anything, though, only sought out a safe place to watch the group from a distance. His heart pounded, his face burned, and his pants were uncomfortably tight.

_He's always been that good-looking. He's perfect, he's gorgeous, and I never want to look at anyone else like that, male or female._

 

Somehow, he managed to dodge a million questions when they returned. Mother and Father merely assumed he wasn't feeling well and needed to rest, while everyone else had more or less forgotten he wasn't there. Only Cynthia prodded him a bit, and of course, Morgan.

"I apologize for my behavior, I wasn't feeling quite myself," he said carefully. "I promise, I will frolic in the ocean with you should we return!"

He spent the rest of the evening trying to practice his dance moves. But even though he knew he didn't have an audience except for the trees and the stars, he couldn't seem to focus. Felt like he was being watched, like somehow the whole world knew why he'd acted the way he had at the beach.

_Face it, Inigo. Your passion for women has waned since you came to this time, and you know perfectly well why. You just don't want to face the truth!_

"What truth?" he asked the empty air around him. "I...I still like...it's not like that, I swear! Owain is...Owain is..."

He couldn't finish the sentence. He didn't want it to be true.

_Really, Inigo?_

He liked girls. Owain was just his best friend...his hot, sexy, amazing best friend who'd been by his side as long as he could remember. Who comforted him when he couldn't sleep, held his hand, had his back during battles, whom Inigo could trust more than anyone with his feelings about their situation.

_It's the full package. Trust, admiration, and attraction. Isn't that what love is?_

"Okay, then. So I'm in love with my best friend!" he said. "Now what?" He could think of a dozen reasons not to tell Owain, most of them involving Owain laughing in his face or pointing out that he wasn't a girl. _Oh, and there's that detail. I still can't get past the idea that I fell for a guy!_ Not that it was wrong or anything. He didn't know if it was more common now than in their time, or vice versa, and he was sure Father wouldn't be _too_ disappointed not to have any heirs unless he and Mother had other children after this was all over.

Rather, he just couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he'd spent all his life liking girls, thinking he was brought to this world to make girls happy...and the person he loved more than life itself was a guy.

"But this isn't just any guy," he murmured. "This is _Owain._ " No one, guy or girl, had ever felt as close to his heart as Owain did. The person who slept by his side, watched his back, listened to his woes. The person he teased because he envied his confidence, but wanted to learn from because he admired that confidence even more.

Owain was Owain.

 

He went back and forth for the rest of the night on whether or not to confess to Owain. Laurent would call it weighing the pros and cons, but to Inigo it was his heart versus his pathetic fears. The fact that Owain was another guy was no longer an issue, and he knew their friends wouldn't make a fuss. No, it went beyond social concerns at this point. Inigo only feared rejection.

_What if he's not into guys? What if he's already interested in someone else? What if he's fine being **friends** with an awkward loser like me, but that's it?_

But his heart remembered the long talks they'd had, how they'd eased his mind. The security he felt as Owain slept beside him at night. How Owain had taken the time to explain his methods despite Inigo teasing him.

He thought of what Father told him, about how Mother was the first and only woman he'd truly loved despite his proposing to every woman he ever met. Mother's story of how Father had won her heart by dancing with her from a comfortable distance.

Inigo had let Owain teach him the value of naming weapons. He still wasn't very good at it, but maybe he could build up to confessing his feelings with a few more lessons. And then...yes, then he would name the most special weapon he could after Owain! After all, actions spoke louder than words, didn't they?

But when he finally crawled into his bedroll and felt the warmth of Owain's body beside his, saw the peaceful look on his face, he didn't have the patience to craft and forge until his hands hurt. _I'm not a master forger, I'm not a craftsman...I'm just me. An awkward dancer. My words are only words but they're all I have._

He slid closer to Owain, closing his eyes, resting his cheek against his shoulder. He thought he heard a sigh, but it was probably just his imagination.

 

_Today. It has to be today._ He waited patiently through breakfast, through morning exercises with Kjelle's father, through at least two skirmishes with random Risen. It was well after lunch when everyone scattered to do their own thing, and Inigo was able to find Owain alone by the river. Even if he was just there to fill the canteens, Inigo couldn't think of a more romantic spot for a love confession.

"Owain," he began, licking his dry lips. His heart was pounding and his hands were sweaty and his stomach was in knots, but he was determined to see this through. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Oh?" Owain turned around. "You appear troubled, my friend! What burdens your heart this afternoon?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it a _burden,_ " Inigo said. "It's more...how do I even begin to put this?" He sighed. "Have you ever...let's say there's someone you've known all your life, you think you understand how it is between you two, but one day things change?"

"Change how?" Owain capped the first canteen and got to work filling the second, but Inigo knew he was still listening. When you were this close to a person you didn't have to make eye contact to listen to them.

"Like...you notice how beautiful they are, you could spend all day just looking at them." The words came so quickly, he didn't have time to think about them. "And you wish you had more days without stuff going on so you could spend all your time with them, and during battles you know you don't need to protect them because you've got each other's backs and they make you feel _safe_ and one morning you just really want to tell them you love them even if the idea scares you!"

Owain went still for a moment, then turned around, slowly capping the other canteen and setting it down carefully.

"Yes," he said, "I believe I do know how that feels."

"Oh?" Inigo's heart sank. "Well, then...I'm glad to hear that, Owain. Really, I am. So who's the lucky lady? Or guy, if that's the case." Owain shook his head, taking Inigo's hand in his own and squeezing.

"Had you not spoken, I would be sitting here, pondering just how someone seeking signs of love could possibly be so dense as to miss the ones aimed towards him," he said. Inigo blinked.

"Eh?"

"My dear comrade," Owain said, "had you just spoken your heart sooner, you'd have known that mine was the same!"

"And in the common tongue, that means..."

Owain rolled his eyes.

"I love you too, you big idiot," he said, punching him lightly on the arm. "I've been in love with you for years, in fact. That's part of why I got so upset when you made fun of me, I didn't like thinking my crush found me lame!"

"Lame? Owain, I've admired you forever!" Inigo laughed. " _I_ was afraid _you_ thought _I_ was lame! You kept making fun of me, too!"

"We're a pair, aren't we." Owain smiled, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "If you hadn't said anything, I was ready to."

"Really?"

"Well, within a day or two," Owain chuckled. "I'd need the time to compose the perfect confession!"

"Would you believe I was going to wait a few days, too? Keep asking for lessons in naming weapons until I could forge the perfect sword to name after you?" Inigo shook his head. "I didn't have that kind of patience."

"Good. As it turns out, I didn't, either," Owain said, just before he cupped Inigo's cheek in his hand and pressed his lips against his. Inigo immediately parted his lips, leaning more into the warmth of the kiss. This, he understood flawlessly. When the kiss broke, he leaned further into Owain's embrace, breathing in the scent of sweat and dust and comforting familiarity.

This moment, he decided, was worth all the sleepless nights and years of rejection.

They probably could have stayed like that all afternoon, but the canteens stood at their feet and they knew someone would be looking for them very soon. With a sigh, Inigo reluctantly parted from the embrace and bent to pick one up.

"We should go back."

"We've been gone a bit too long, yes," Owain said. "And we should tell the others, of course."

"But not Morgan," Inigo chuckled. "She already knew, didn't she?"

"Maybe!" Owain smirked, picking up the second canteen. "I mean, she _is_ my little sister, and she's been on this obsessive quest to re-learn everything about me. I don't think she was going to let a thing like this slip past her!"

"She'll tease us for weeks, won't she," Inigo sighed. "Oh, well. It's nothing I'm not already used to."

"Exactly." Owain grinned, slipping his hand into Inigo's as they headed back toward camp. The sky was slightly overcast, and the air was beginning to chill, but Inigo only felt warmth and sunshine.

**Author's Note:**

> I had two basic ideas for how this fic would go. One was basically dissecting the supports from an OTP perspective, the other was Inigo being a big dork who was madly in love with his best friend. Needless to say, the second one ended up working more! I was happy to have a chance to write this ship, I don't do it nearly enough even though it's one of my top m/m pairs for Awakening and FE in general.


End file.
